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vivalaooc2025-01-31 08:44 pm
vivalamods) wrote in vivalaooc2025-01-31 08:44 pm
Entry tags:
TDM #8
TEST DRIVE #8
The day begins as any other, you’re going about your day, living your life, when, without warning, you feel the world around you shift on its axis. You feel a great tear, welling from the depths of your soul as you are ripped from all you have known. If you’re lucky, you arrive in the wilderness of an unfamiliar world, where the language is foreign and the people are hostile. To make your escape, you must learn some language, flee, and occasionally fight, all to find your way off the floating isles you find yourself on and to the great ocean below, where rebel forces will welcome you.
If you’re unlucky, you materialize within a room full of armed guards and are quickly subdued with charged nets, stripped of your belongings, fitted with strange devices that suppress your powers and pressed into servitude. Your days are unimaginable pain and toil.
Fortunately, even in this world, there is still hope. For the denizens of this world have not given up. And it is for that dream of salvation that the Crimson Corsairs raise their flags and sail - for liberation. Perhaps you are one who has lived their entire life under the oppressive yoke of the Empire. Perhaps you have seen first hand your family and friends cut down by nobles hunting men for sport, or perhaps you have run afoul with the church and barely escaped with your life. No matter your origin, the Corsairs sail for you, for your freedom, for your life. And today, a taste of freedom will be won for all.
ARRIVAL/LIBERATION
The attacks on Bluvink and Vindess were wildly successful, but it also created the largest risk to Imperial citizens ever. Due to the heavy dealing with certain elements of the imperial citizenry, there has been a heightened risk at the Empire cracking down on them. In an effort to protect them, the Corsairs have welcomed a large number of refugees from Imperial settlements for the first time. While some servants were also liberated in the operation, a great deal of the Corsair’s airship resources were devoted to evacuation.
As such, the Vault is filled to the brim with people being processed and temporarily housed. Whole families have been displaced, and it’s hard to determine who might be willing to sell out the Corsairs for a chance to return when offered. Please be patient, like as not, you’ll be here for a while.
UNDERGROUND OVERCROWDING
In addition to the refugees, many of Flotsam’s regulars are currently residing in the Vault. While the settlement is quite large, even its capacity is starting to become overloaded. And with the clashing personalities of typical Vault and Flotsam residents, to say nothing of all of the Imperial refugees who have been ripped from their former lives and are now residing in an unfamiliar and, for Isle-dwellers disconcerting new home, tensions are running high. It’s pretty common for brawls to break out, although if you’re taking part or attempting to keep the peace is another story entirely.
CRITICAL REPAIRS
The fighting in the Isles Above was intense, and the airships did not escape unscathed. The ships have been brought into the Vault for intensive inspection and repairs, and those who are on duty are working day and night to get them fixed up in time for the next major operation. Whether you’re a craftsperson, hunter, gatherer, or salvager, chances are high that you’ve been tapped to procure or create material for these repairs, and you haven’t really had much time to rest.
It’s all right though, the foremen kindly left free pizza in the mess hall. That makes it fine, right?
WHEN YOU’RE LAND-BOUND, BETTER DRINK
Many of the Flotsam residents are going more than a little stir-crazy hiding out in the Vault. In what is certainly an extremely cunning plan without any potential downsides, the Vault has mobilized all of the Waterlogged Row’s purveyors of grog and set them up centrally within the Vault. And thus, the Flotsam citizens are able to engage in their favorite past-time. Getting extremely drunk. In enclosed quarters. In a city full of scholars that’s under constant bombardment.
Surely nothing will go wrong.
WILDCARD
Have an idea for your own prompt? Feel free to make any prompt that you think would fit!
OOC
Welcome to the eighth Test-Drive Meme for Viva La! All threads here may be considered canon once characters have entered the game. Threads here are eligible for use as a roleplay sample for applications, which will open on the 5th of February at midnight.
code credit
neferpitou | hunter x hunter | au (villain)
[ When you're serious about total eradication, it's time to bring out the real monsters.
Where are all those refugees disappearing to, anyway? Pitou would like to know, since they figure the Corsairs might have a little something to do with it. From what they understand, there are some humans that don't like to see the "innocent" of their kind suffer. Pitou still doesn't get what "innocent" really means, but they have developed their own profile: weak, useless humans that can't fight or survive well on their own.
So, that's who they've decided to round up. Their group of captives includes twenty or so would-be refugees, most of whom are either elderly or injured. All trails have gone cold in Bavrecht, which is strange to begin with. At dusk—the start of a cold, miserable night—Pitou drops from a rocky perch and lands next to an imperial soldier. The fall is at least twenty or thirty meters, but they're unfazed. ]
Shoot up an emergency flare. Then go hide.
[ The soldier obeys. There are a few others around, making sure Pitou's "innocents" don't kick up a fuss. Most of them are too weak or despondent to resist, anyway. Pitou has them gathered at the center of a desolate valley where they're easy to spot from a ways off.
Some time passes. Two minutes. Three. Then Pitou taps into their Ethereal power, spreading it out to the surrounding area—oppressive, undulating tendrils that can sense anything within two kilometers surrounding them. ]
... Found you.
[ You as in any poor onlooker who might be scouting the situation or thinking of rescuing the captives. Run, hide, or try to talk your way out of it. Pitou can cover ground at alarming speed, and once they're close enough, the aura they give off is like a suffocating presence of pure anxiety and dread. ]
II. TRY, TRY AGAIN
[ No luck in Bavrecht? They can try Elysium, now that there's a bit more traffic heading in and out.
This time, there's no real plan. They're just going to slip up behind random folks on the street and begin an interrogation. When approaching, they suppress their Ethereal aura, but there's still an inhuman creepiness that's quite chilling all on its own. That and it's most likely the dead of night.
Pitou sets their claws on the target's shoulder and leans in with an unsettling smile. ]
Let's talk. Where are you off to?
(ooc: can do a wildcard or mix things up for any other potential villains! also i'm happy to match with prose, since i know that's a popular option for folks.)
ii
Tau has a scarf wound around his shoulders and over his head, but he stiffens under the touch, and the only reasons he's not immediately moving to disengage this person from his space is their current location and that Other that he senses. Does this one have a different scent?]
Apothecary's. Is this urgent?
no subject
[ They draw back the claw on his shoulder, and their smile gains a bit more of a casual, non-threatening look. Then they trail Tau at a breezy trot, hands cupped together behind their back. ]
Is someone sick? It's not you, is it? You pretty much seem fine to me.
no subject
He continues on, eyes keeping ahead, though he keeps the rest of his senses tuned in on the stranger behind him.]
Not me, no. Just coming back from a delivery. Can't always keep strict business hours in this line of business.
...what about yourself? Did you need something?
no subject
I see, I see. Most humans are pretty frail, aren't they. It's hard for me to keep track of all those different diseases they can end up dying from. You must be busy all the time!
[ Not spoken with any obvious malice, though that probably doesn't make it less unsettling. ]
I work with the Imperial Army, and I'm on the hunt for traitors. Do you know of anyone suspicious?
no subject
At least it means I never lack for work.
[Ah, but now they get to the real reason for this conversation. Tau finally allows himself to glance over at the other, if briefly.]
Yeah? I guess tensions have been high after the news from Bluvink. Can't say I know anyone suspicious. Most of the people I speak to are patients or people on behalf of said patients either desperate for some treatment or impatient that things can't get better faster.
no subject
Aren't those exactly the kinds of people who could be in cahoots with the enemy? Humans do all sorts of things in order to protect themselves and their families. Besides, certain medicine can be really hard to come by, especially these days. A lot of them can't afford it just by doing normal work.
[ That's in large part because the nobles and their ilk have a tendency to hoard it. Not that Pitou cares much either way when it comes to which humans die. In any case, it's clear that they're prodding just to see if he might let something slip. ]
no subject
[He looks dryly at the other, suspecting that not to be the case, especially given how they talk about humans.]
Especially if they aren't accustomed to it, or think it might mess up their plans for another day. Most of my housecalls are for nobles. They get upset when I tell them the best way to get rid of their cold is a few days rest.
I.
Matt is no Corsair, though he has admired their work from afar a long time now. His involvement in the war is limited by his Hades title, but he has been concerned over the wellbeing of the common people long before death came to claim him. He was hoping to slip in and free the crowd, but clearly he made a miscalculation. Someone among the soldiers was quite talented. ]
Don't recognize your voice. Is there a problem, Stranger?
[ He turns towards Pitou so they can see his face under the hood of his long dark cloak. His eyes don't raise to meet theirs, instead pointing towards the sound of their voice a little lower. He plants the end of the cane he's carrying in the grass between them, raising a confused brow. ]
no subject
Hm. Can you not see? That must be hard.
[ Or it would be, probably, if this person were human. They look human enough, but something is off. What Pitou actually knows about the Old Gods is limited; the Empire keeps their leash pretty short, and only provide information that they consider need-to-know.
Which is a pain. Pitou has a curious nature—and they would love to fight a god. ]
I'm just wondering: what brings you out here? They test all kinds of weapons in this area, so it's dangerous. But I think you know that already, stranger.
no subject
[ He puts a hand to his chest, trying to drive home how worried he is. He swears! He squeezes his eyes closed in distress, frowning. ]
I realize it was dangerous for me to wander this close to the testing grounds, but I can't just leave someone injured out here! And I know the way back to the nearest outpost and the doctor.
[ He does gesture in the correct direction of the military outpost. ]
I care about the troops and engineers here. I'm one of the cooks at the outpost. Sorry- I probably should have led with that. [ He laughs to himself and smiles. ]
no subject
[ Pitou's own cat ears fidget a little. They have thought about what it would be like to have been born without a ton of natural power, but to live with a disability? No, they're actually impressed. Though, of course, that has nothing to do with clearing him of suspicion. ]
I ordered someone to fire that to see if I could draw out any enemies. Supposedly there was a group of refugees that disappeared around here not too long ago, and I was curious if the Crimson Corsairs might have been involved somehow.
What do you think? Considering that you're familiar with this area and all.
no subject
[ He squints, frowning to himself. ]
I'm trying to remember. Was that the group of traitors His Majesty was talking about on the radio the other day?
It's a little hard to keep track of all the people coming and going at the port. But I did overhear the soldiers getting frustrated about some slaves earlier when they came in for breakfast. Not sure if it's the same group of people you're looking for. They started filling their mouths with food before going into detail.